news / Mandela Day Celebrations
Nelson Mandela celebrated his 93rd Birthday on the 18th of July, 2011. Millions of children in South African Schools would have started the day by singing Happy Birthday to this great man in assembly.
Nelson Mandela gave 67 years of his life, fighting for human rights and social justice. In honour of this, Mandela International Day's overall objective is: to encourage individuals to give, at least, 67 minutes of their time to help others, their community and make the world a slightly better place.
Around the world numerous people devoted 67 minutes of their day to helping others. One went to the gym for 67 minutes, so she would go through 67 minutes of torture in remembrance of Mandela's years of fighting.
Across South Africa food donations were given where ever possible to those in need. Light bulbs were replaced with low energy ones in old age homes. In Alexandra, Teddy Bears made by school children were given to the local hospital and left on patient's pillows. In Khayelitsha, a township close to Cape Town, a group called Cheese Kids - a South African community group visited Baphumelele Educare Centre. This centre is there for the development of young children and houses roughly 230 children between the ages of 3 months to 6 years old. Cheese Kids went to the centre and helped out in any way they could; scrubbing floors, painting, washing, just helping with everything the fabulous ladies who run the centre do not have time to do.
Here at the Nelson Mandela Children's fund in the UK, we went to Endsleigh Gardens, St Mungo's homeless hostel to help clean for 67 minutes. The hostel is a massive building spread over four floors, offering shelter to between 60 to 100 men and women. The connection with St Mungo's hostel was formed when NMCF's Rachael Ward and Charlie Bowles went to meet singer song writer Hugh Mattan, a resident at one of the hostels located in Endell Street. His story shows how important it is to offer help and shelter to those who need it. Having written a song 'More than a Memory' -which has been turned into a downloadable track and CD to mark Mr Mandela's 93rd Birthday- Hugh has managed to turn his life around, now performing at regular gigs and looking to move into his own place. This story shows how the hostel helped one man, and in return for Mandela Day, four members of the NMCF team went in to help this remarkable organisation by cleaning communal areas for 67 minutes, as sometimes it is hard for the two cleaners to keep on top of it.
67 minutes, does not seem a lot to ask, in remembrance of the 67 years Nelson Mandela spent fighting for us. So next year, if you did not manage to this year, try to do something good for your community. If we carried out these acts of kindness every day, the world would be a far better place.
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